While Donald Trump and his “official opposition” in the Democratic Party never stop boasting before the whole world about the “virtues of American democracy,” it is the real deeds of the capitalist politicians which reveal the typical mode of operation of the U.S. government.

The conditions of arbitrary imprisonment precipitated the deaths of at least 180 people while in immigration detention over the last 15 years. Since 1980 over a dozen people have been shot dead in cold blood by Border Police and thousands have born tragic deaths while in the vicinity of the border. Every day, the police arbitrarily and wantonly inflict beatings and torture on the youth, the working people and the oppressed nationalities. In violation not only of international law but of any civilized standard of conduct, the U.S. army carried out a policy of burying Iraqi soldiers and civilians alive.

These kinds of events are not the result of mere mistakes made by one or a few bad apples, but the typical mode of operation of the U.S. government. Corruption and killing are the way of life of the capitalist class and its state apparatus. The capitalists are committing and will commit any crime in order to rob from and exploit the working people at home and to attack and exploit peoples the world over.

No, the U.S. government is not run according to the will of the people or even according to the rule of law. It is a government of hardened criminals – enemies of humanity – who arbitrarily and with impunity trample on the rights of the people and even their own laws.

What will our future be? Will the capitalist parties lead us into new wars or will the people find the path to peace? Will the capitalists impose more poverty and repression on us or will the people claim their inalienable economic and political rights?

Our country is at a crossroads. The capitalist political parties have repeatedly and openly declared that they are preparing more wars. They are bankrupting the public treasury, destroying our economy and attacking even the most elementary economic rights of the people. The capitalist government keeps increasing its apparatus of repression and attacking the democratic rights of the people.

Anyone who is willing, even for a minute, to acknowledge reality, knows that the current political system and political process is completely monopolized by the rich. The Republicans and Democrats are official government-supported parties, financed by big business and unabashedly devoted to the program of the capitalist class and U.S. imperialism. The big business media monopolizes the political discussion deciding which candidates and which issues get air time. The entire political agenda has been circumscribed by the monopoly capitalist class.

Only the working class and people themselves can lead the way out of the crisis and move our country onto the road of political renewal and the emancipation of the people.

A key factor for advancing such an independent politics is to carry out the broadest possible discussion amongst people about their own independent aims and agenda. Through this discussion, the people will find the ways to bring their agenda to center-stage and to carry out the necessary political changes to insure the implementation of their agenda.

Developing the discussion requires breaking with the way politics is defined by the status quo and creating a new politics which gives content and direction to the aims and agenda of the people themselves. We can envision a new political system and political process which actually empowers the people. We can create new political forms which enable people to politicize themselves by sorting out their own agenda and tactics. We can initiate more independent political actions which bring independent politics to the forefront and openly contend with the capitalists over the present and future of our country.

The ever-growing consciousness and organization of the people is key to victory. As the new social and political movements of the working class emerge, the decisive thing is to build, in the center of the class, the conscious and systematic movement for revolution and socialism.